Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Anthurium hybrid cultivar Misty Rose.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Anthurium plant, botanically known as Anthurium hybrid, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Misty Rosexe2x80x99.
The new Anthurium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Apopka, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Anthurium cultivars with a rapid growth rate, dark green-colored foliage and uniform flowering habit.
The new Anthurium originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Apopka, Fla. on Apr. 23, 1997, of the Anthurium hybrid cultivar Pura Vida Red, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,080, as the female, or seed, parent with the Anthurium hybrid cultivar Cotton Candy, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,819, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Misty Rose was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Apopka, Fla., on May 11, 2000.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar by meristem culture in a controlled environment in Sebring, Fla., since July, 1997, has shown that the unique features of this new Anthurium plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.
The new Anthurium has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of the cultivar Misty Rose. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Misty Rosexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar of Anthurium:
1. Upright and outwardly spreading plant habit; relatively intermediate in size.
2. Glossy dark green-colored leaves.
3. Flat, cordate and pink-colored spathes.
4. Inflorescences that are positioned among and above the foliage on strong and erect scapes.
5. Excellent inflorescence longevity with spathes maintaining pink coloration for at least eight weeks.
Plants of the new Anthurium are most similar to plants of the male parent, the cultivar Cotton Candy. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Homestead, Fla., plants of the new Anthurium differed from plants of the cultivar Cotton Candy in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Anthurium were taller and more upright than plants of the cultivar Cotton Candy.
2. Leaves of plants of the new Anthurium were larger than leaves of plants of the cultivar Cotton Candy.
3. Leaf petioles and scapes of plants of the new Anthurium were flushed with bronze whereas leaf petioles and scapes of plants of the cultivar Cotton Candy were green in color.
4. Spathes of plants of the new Anthurium were larger and darker pink in color than spathes of plants of the cultivar Cotton Candy.
Plants of the new Anthurium can also be compared to plant of the female parent, the cultivar Pura Vida Red. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Homestead, Fla., plants of the new Anthurium differed from plants of the cultivar Pura Vida Red in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Anthurium were more durable and better suited to commercial production than plants of the cultivar Pura Vida Red.
2. Spathes of plants of the new Anthurium were pink in color whereas spathes of plants of the cultivar Pura Vida Red were dark red in color.